56-Year-Old Military Veteran Retires From U.S. Postal Service To Play College Baseball
Jim Fullan is more than twice the age of his college baseball teammates and he's only a freshman! The 56-year-old enrolled at Montgomery County Community College in the fall and picked up a bat this spring.
Fullan, a grandfather to nine, moved from Long Island to Pennsylvania as a kid and was cut from his high school baseball team in the 1980s. With his MLB dreams behind him, he joined the U.S. Army out of high school and spent 36 years working for the United States Postal Service.
Although Fullan hasn't played in a hardball league in 17 years, his recent retirement inspired him to not only go back to school, but get back on the baseball diamond. So he did!
Fullan reached out to multiple junior colleges in the state. Most of them politely declined to offer him a spot, many did not respond at all.
In the end, Montgomery County was the only program that gave him a shot. 61-year-old head coach Mike Fitzgerald is only five years older than his newest, and oldest player.
Jim Fullan, at age 56, is playing college baseball.
After getting his opportunity, Fullan packed up his stuff and moved an hour and 30 minutes south for the next chapter of his life. He takes classes during the day and suits up for the Mustangs after school, even though he doesn't see the field often in actual games.
Fullan understands that his age limits his ability. His arm isn't quite what it used to be.
I’m sore every day, but I’m in decent shape and I can still hit.
To try and give himself an advantage, the retired postman uses a shorter bat to increase his speed, and a longer glove to extend his range. It's the little things.
Fullan has one at-bat on the season. He got ahold of a 3-1 pitch and ripped it down the third base line.
It would have been an easy base hit if it had stayed fair, but the ball was called foul. Fullan then struck out two pitches later.
Despite the result of his single college baseball at-bat, Fullan is just thrilled to be on the team.
You know, the more I talked about this, the more people laughed at me. That made me want to do it more. It seemed like a joke at first, but I will see it through.
No matter how old he might be, Fullan's teammates are glad to have him on the team. They appreciate his willingness to help out at every turn, his dedication for college baseball, and the joy he brings by simply being on the field.
His presence serves as motivation and inspiration for his team, for his opponents, and for all of us at home with dreams on which we refuse to give up. Keep swinging, Jim Fullan!
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